The field of the invention is security mirrors of the type used in prison cells and other vandal-prone installations.
Various approaches have been taken to provide mirrors for prison cells, mental institutions and the like, and a widely used type of mirror a has glass or plastic mirror held in a steel frame which is screwed into threaded openings in the wall. Tamper-resistant screws are used to reduce the possibility that the mirror be removed from the wall, but unfortunately such tamper-resistant screws are not tamper proof and removability can create a problem and in some instances even can conceivably result in a safety hazard. A more secure mirror can be made having a stainless steel reflective surface and vandal resistant mirrors have been provided entirely made from stainless steel with a highly polished stainless steel viewing surface. Such one piece stainless steel mirrors have the advantage of being impossible to disassemble, have no glass to be broken and provide a higher level of security than the above-described mirror but such mirrors are mounted from the viewing side of the wall and still can be removed from the wall side and if the mirror becomes scratched or bent, it must be replaced from within the prison cell. It is highly desirable to provide fixtures that can be serviced or replaced from outside of the prison cell. The steps required to provide maintenance service in a prison cell are labor intensive. First, it must be understood that prison guards or security personnel are not permitted to do service or maintenance work. Furthermore, maintenance personnel are not trained or equipped to guard prisoners. Still further, tools which are required to perform maintenance are potentially capable of being used as weapons and it thus becomes necessary for the maintenance personnel to be kept separated from prisoners. Therefore, even for a simple maintenance task it is necessary to first remove the prisoner or prisoners from the cell. Secondly, the maintenance man, accompanied by a security man enter the cell. A second security may may also be required to escort the maintenance man to the cell door. It can thus be seen that a task as ostensibly simple as changing a light bulb becomes a disruptive and labor intensive task if it must be done from within the cell.
Another design of security mirror is shown in United States Patent No. 4,006,572 assigned to the assignee of the present application. While this mirror provides the requisite security from removal from the front surface, it still does require servicing from the front surface with the above-described disadvantages relating thereto.
There is thus a need for a mirror which cannot be removed from the viewing side and yet one which can be serviced and replaced from the back surface of the viewing side.